Family Walk : a Poem

Holly Madden

As our steps carry us in a chosen direction,

My littlest giggles.

At squirrels that play 

On moss-lined bark 

Of a nearby mother oak. 

We pause to extend a hello, 

And thank the squirrels for the nuts they buried 

And then forgot 

That are now the newest growing tree-lings, 

soon to shelter, and pollinate, and breathe. 

We hardly progress 

As my daughter gasps at the tapestry

Of a sunset sky,

Behind branches holding the birth of blooms,

Which hold the song of birds that take flight

From bloom to sky.

I stand in wonder,

But she dances to the magic, 

Unhindered by society’s expectations. 

Soon both babes spin and flap their arms

As if they too will fly. 

And I find myself hoping, 

that they will never lose the 

hope that they just may.

Time loses meaning, 

as our feet lighten on clovered ground,

Pride swells as they name the flowers, 

and they celebrate the journey of a pollen -coated bee, 

Then ask me how to identify the magnificent trees they run to greet. 

My daughter asks me again why the ocean levels rise,

And then weeps as she cannot fathom 

The disconnect of humans that hold power but not compassion. 

My son chases a butterfly, 

And picks the pinkest henbit he sees, 

Knowing nothing of gendered norms,

And I beg the world around me

He never will. 

We walk till the duvet of night

Tucks this life- filled land into bed. 

 Our awe moves to starlight, 

As we chant the names of constellations 

And orbiting planet bodies 

That I once named on a picnic table bench 

With my dad as we 

Breathed mountain air. 

I smile at the family roots of world wonder 

As we now count down the days till fireflies

Mimic star glow inside our reach. 

I know not how long we walked,

Nor how far we traveled,

But I can name every moment we laughed,

And every flower we named,

And the way daylights descent ignited magic 

In my children’s eyes. 

As our house welcomes us home,

I fear it’s walls are too small 

to contain our energy.

So we carry our tired feet into dreaming, 

Where flowers touch the sky

That ocean tides have painted

In the colors of coral reefs and reflective blue. 

Before I too, become the storyteller of my dreams, 

I pull open each curtain just enough 

To let moonlight be our guide from evening wonder into the magic of night.